New Delhi, July 28 - Construction major Gammon India is likely to get off the hook as the company is 'very important' to Delhi Metro for the completion of its projects in time, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) indicated Tuesday as it blacklisted two other firms for the July 12 mishap that killed six people and injured 15 others.

'Gammon India is very important for us. They are involved in five major projects in Phase II. If you take them away, the projects will get delayed by six to eight months,' DMRC chief E. Sreedharan said.

'We need Gammon India. Unfortunately, we don't have many big construction companies,' he told reporters here, adding that blacklisting Gammon 'at this point of time means floating tenders once again'.

'But we will send them a show cause notice asking why they should not be blacklisted for two years. The notice will be vetted through legal officers. They will have 21 days to answer. Depending upon the answer, we will take action on them.'

Asked if he believes that 'Gammon India is too important for the completion of the metro work before the Commonwealth Games', Sreedharan told IANS: 'We will fine them. But I won't comment on the fine amount right now.